John Cage: Behind Song Books

Avant-garde composer, musical theorist, writer and artist John Cage took a chance early in his career to challenge what deliberate sound meant when he performed his silent 1952 composition 4’33’’, thereby labeling him “that guy who sat and stared at his audience for nearly five minutes.” But Cage’s later work, though often over-shadowed, is just as revolutionary. His grand “magnam opuses,” quiet, meditative works and mathematical sonatas will be unpacked and unfurled at tonight’s Behind Song Books event with workshops on how Cage made music from a cactus, and talks with composers Joan La Barbara and Richard Kostelanetz. -Abigail Bruley